I think there’s no question that many of us posting on this forum are Marshall fans to the core and are going to attend Marshall games regardless of the status of the program. That said, in recent years, I don’t know that I’ve had as much excitement as years past.
My question to you all is; what sorts of things would you like to see the athletic department do in order to bring life in the program?
A couple things I had on my mind:
1. Getting non Marshall fans talking about/wanting to attend games.
- Scheduling WVU is huge for both programs, it draws so much interest throughout the state. We really need to push this, honestly I’ve seen a decline in fan interest by not having this game.
- Keep pushing 2-1s or 1-1s for P5 programs, you never know when one of these teams could get hot before coming to Huntington. The 2016 Louisville game was one of the most enjoyable games of recent years, Lamar Jackson gave Marshall a lot of exposure through that game. Imagine having Cincinnati in town this year. I believe the Virginia Tech series is a huge win for Marshall.
- Lure Opponents in with free stuff. I think we should offer free tickets to opponent’s students and opponent’s season ticket holders. Heck even assist in chartering buses from bordering states. There’s plenty of open seats to give away tickets and I would personally donate to this cause. There’s so many things you can build on from getting opponent’s fans to attend games. I hope we can do something to fill the Joan for the 2023 VT game.
2. Establishing a rivalry we can count on every year, consistently. Nobody is excited by slapping the title “rival” on WKU or FAU games. Also really drains the rivalry excitement, by only playing rivals every few years or so, it needs to be consistent. There needs to be established history and relationships to draw us together. Heck look what WKU vs MTSU or Appy St vs Ga Southern have even on down years. Moving to the Sun Belt helps Marshall give a presence in Southern states, yet I wouldn’t be opposed to adding to that by playing ECU every year. Other good options would be in our untouched alumni hot spot of Ohio. Ohio U or Miami (OH), both have good mixing of alumni in the areas they recruit students from and are easily drivable both ways.
3. Winning, there’s no secret what winning can do for a program. That said we have to understand what limited resources Marshall has and be realist. There’s a reason why Boise St will never go to the Big12 or why North Dakota St is still playing in the FCS. My only hope is the college football playoff expands or the G5 splits off to have its own playoff. The current post season gives me little excitement compared to the FCS playoffs in the 90s.
What thoughts/ ideas do you guys have?
My question to you all is; what sorts of things would you like to see the athletic department do in order to bring life in the program?
A couple things I had on my mind:
1. Getting non Marshall fans talking about/wanting to attend games.
- Scheduling WVU is huge for both programs, it draws so much interest throughout the state. We really need to push this, honestly I’ve seen a decline in fan interest by not having this game.
- Keep pushing 2-1s or 1-1s for P5 programs, you never know when one of these teams could get hot before coming to Huntington. The 2016 Louisville game was one of the most enjoyable games of recent years, Lamar Jackson gave Marshall a lot of exposure through that game. Imagine having Cincinnati in town this year. I believe the Virginia Tech series is a huge win for Marshall.
- Lure Opponents in with free stuff. I think we should offer free tickets to opponent’s students and opponent’s season ticket holders. Heck even assist in chartering buses from bordering states. There’s plenty of open seats to give away tickets and I would personally donate to this cause. There’s so many things you can build on from getting opponent’s fans to attend games. I hope we can do something to fill the Joan for the 2023 VT game.
2. Establishing a rivalry we can count on every year, consistently. Nobody is excited by slapping the title “rival” on WKU or FAU games. Also really drains the rivalry excitement, by only playing rivals every few years or so, it needs to be consistent. There needs to be established history and relationships to draw us together. Heck look what WKU vs MTSU or Appy St vs Ga Southern have even on down years. Moving to the Sun Belt helps Marshall give a presence in Southern states, yet I wouldn’t be opposed to adding to that by playing ECU every year. Other good options would be in our untouched alumni hot spot of Ohio. Ohio U or Miami (OH), both have good mixing of alumni in the areas they recruit students from and are easily drivable both ways.
3. Winning, there’s no secret what winning can do for a program. That said we have to understand what limited resources Marshall has and be realist. There’s a reason why Boise St will never go to the Big12 or why North Dakota St is still playing in the FCS. My only hope is the college football playoff expands or the G5 splits off to have its own playoff. The current post season gives me little excitement compared to the FCS playoffs in the 90s.
What thoughts/ ideas do you guys have?
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